Sunflower in the Snow
by HCA RavenHollow
Summary: The man frowned slightly, holding out his hands to offer picking up the child. "How about we go home and get some nice hot chocolate, ja?" This child could be a country, he certainly seemed like one. [Rated T because of Lovino's potty mouth] AU Human names used.


CHAPTER 1: _Finding Hope_

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Cold...the world was a cold place. Only the fittest could survive the harshness the Earth throws at them, but even they perish eventually. Most young children could not understand reality until they reached their teenage years, but there was always a small percentage who, quite sadly, did understand. Ivan Braginsky was one of those children. He was a simple, homeless four year old in the streets of Moscow. His father had died before he had been born, and his mother and step-father had abandoned him for reasons he did not fully understand. The lonely four year old roamed the streets as snow fell gently onto the already snowy ground. He was not paying attention to where he was going and bumped into someone's leg in the process. Ivan froze, looking up at the person with wide fearful eyes.

"I-I'm sowwy m-m-mister." Stuttering, he backed up a bit, not knowing how the adult would react. The person he had run into was a young male, possibly in his twenties. He had a green military uniform on with a light blue scarf similar to Ivan's, except his was light pink. Ivan barely registered the man crouching down so he was at the same eye-level as him, but when he did his eyes widened in fear and curiosity. The man he had bumped into had a gentle smile, no traces of anger on his pale face. He took in the rest of the man's features as he locked eye contact with him, noticing that his hair was light blond, and his eyes...they were an eye color he had never seen before. His eyes were a light blue, the color of the sky on a bright sunny day, which he had never seen in his short life.

"What are you doing outside all alone?" The man asked, snapping Ivan out of his trance. He suddenly found the ground to be interesting, not wanting to reply to the question that had an obvious answer.

The man frowned slightly, holding out his hands to offer picking up the child. "How about we go home and get some nice hot chocolate, ja?" He said, mentally deciding to take the abandoned child under his wing. His family will be confused, but he could care less. This child could be a country, he certainly seemed like one. No regular four year old could survive out in the cold this long and still be standing.

Ivan studied the man for what seemed like an eternity, when in reality it had only been a couple of minutes, before raising his arms asking to be picked up. The man responded with a smile as he pulled out a blanket that he had in his backpack, which the little boy had just now noticed. Wrapping him up in the warm fuzzy purple blanket, the man picked up little Ivan and hugged him close to his chest. Ivan yawned sleepily, resting his head on the man's shoulder as he started to walk home. Normally he would run away from adults, but there was something different about this man that made him decide to trust him.

"What is your name, little one?" The man suddenly asked, having forgotten to exchange names.

Ivan seemed to hesitate. He decided to say his country name, hoping that he wouldn't freak out. "R-R-Russia...I-I'm Russia...but you c-can c-call me I-Ivan."

"I'm Germany, though my human name is Ludwig." The man stated happily, not bothered at all. Ivan instantly knew that he was a country as well, having heard conversations about other countries from the locals, not to mention Ludwig said something about human names.

For the first time in months, Ivan fell asleep with a smile on his face while dreaming about a field of sunflowers.

**Become one with Russia, da?**

Ludwig had trouble getting the door to his hotel unlocked while trying to find the keys with one hand and holding a sleeping baby country in another. Finally he managed to find them and quickly but silently unlocked the door. 'Good, nobody's back yet.' He thought as he gently kicked the door closed, so he didn't wake up the sleeping Russian. He and his family had been staying here the past few days on vacation. They had all agreed on staying in one room, which was surprisingly big. Sighing heavily, Ludwig set down his backpack by the door and placed Ivan on the couch, who curled up into a ball under the fuzzy purple blanket and continued to sleep like a log. The German frowned when he noticed that the little boy was shaking, and went to find a thicker blanket.

While Ludwig was searching for another blanket, he didn't hear the door open as his partner Feliciano walked in the door with little Kiku holding his hand. The little Japanese nation used his free hand to point at Ivan sleeping on the couch, looking up at his father and tilting his head in question.

"Ve~ Ludwig! Why is there a child sleeping on the couch?" Feliciano questioned rather loudly, but it wasn't enough to wake up the younger of the two children.

"He bumped into me on ze street. He does not have a home, or parents." Ludwig replied as he emerged from a room, holding a large, thick blanket.

"Do you think your parents will be mad about this?"

"Zey might be but I could care less. I vasn't going to let him continue to live in ze cold...besides, he's a nation just like the rest of us."  
Feliciano blinked in surprise, before smiling widely. "Ve! We can raise another little country!" He said happily, giving the German nation a tackle hug in response.

"I'm going to go make some pastaaa!" With that, the Italian drifted off into the kitchen to prepare his favourite meal.

Kiku had gotten bored of his parents talking, toddling over to where Ivan was sleeping. Curiously, Kiku lightly poked him in the arm repeatedly.

**Nihonhonhon!**

Ivan grumbled as he felt someone poke him in the arm repeatedly, curling in tighter to try and send a message that he did not want to be touched. The poking stopped for a few seconds, before it started back up. He opened his eyes and lifted his head to see who his tormentor was, coming face to face with Kiku, who was too close for comfort.

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

A man in the kitchen started swearing in Italian as the pan he was holding flipped into the air, and causing another person-who had just walked in-to drop to the floor in shock, dropping a polar bear in the process.

"Who?"

"I'm Canada!"

Ludwig facepalmed. He should have known that Kiku would be too curious for his own good. When it came to curiousity, Kiku could care less about personal space, but any other time the six year old would freak out if someone other than his family touched him.

The older boy was plopped down on the floor and crying because Ivan's scream had startled him.

"Kiku! How many times have I told you not to get into another person's face?" The German nation scolded his son, picking up Ivan and hugging the little country. Ivan buried his face in the man's shoulder and continued to cry his heart out until he had no more tears to shed. Sniffling, the little Russian looked up at Ludwig, who had a small, reassuring smile on his face. Now that he was calmed down, Ivan looked around the room in curiosity. The Italian man he heard swearing was now in the room, holding the boy named Kiku in his arms.

"Who is this?" The polar bear man asked, his bear sitting beside him on the floor.

"I-Ivan...my country is Russia."

"Well it's nice to meet you Ivan. My name is Matthew, and my county is Canada." The man said with a quiet voice, "and this is Kumajiro, my polar bear."

"Who?"

"I'm Canada!"

"Hungry!"

"I'll get you food in a minute!"

"Hungry!"

"Sorry, I have to go feed Kuma. You know how he is when it comes to food." Matthew sighed, walking off into the kitchen to give Kumajiro his food. Ivan looked up at Ludwig with wide, curious eyes, very hungry himself.

"Feliciano, do you mind making dinner?" Ludwig asked the Italian, concerned for the little country in his arms.

"Ve! I'll go make pastaaa!" Feliciano said, going back to the kitchen and continuing to prepare the food.

**I'll be your hero!**

Right after Feliciano cooked dinner, Gilbert and Arthur arrived. Lovino had appeared sometime while the other Italian was cooking, about to swear until he saw that there were children in the room. Alfred-Lovino and Matthew's son-was quiet for once, having been warned that his cousin already scared the newcomer and didn't need another dose of fear.

Ludwig was currently sitting in-front of his parents on the couch, explaining how they met, and the little incident with Kiku.

"Ma, I couldn't just leave him zere..."

"Ludwig we don't need any human children! He'll grow up, get old, and then die." Arthur said, blunt and straight to the point, not knowing that this child wasn't a regular human.

"He can't die if he's a country."

"It's very unlikely, most countries are born from our kind, not a normal human!"

Frowning, Ludwig looked down at the small child in his lap. Ivan had a sad expression, understanding what Arthur had said. "Ivan, why don't you tell England who you are?"

"Russia!" The little boy stated, his face suddenly lighting up just by mentioning his country. "Меня зовут Россия!" He chanted in his native language, bouncing up and down.

"Okay okay! So he is a country!" Arthur exclaimed, putting his hands up in defeat. "But YOU are responsible for him Ludwig. Your brother has his hands full with Alfred, the hyper little twit. He's worse than when you were a child."

Ludwig smirked, remembering when he use to give the British man a hard time by being very counterproductive. Hopefully Ivan would be obedient like Kiku, and not like Alfred.

Speaking of the devil, Alfred ran by wailing as Matthew chased him, trying to get him to eat his vegetables. "DON'T WANT! DON'T WANT!"  
"You will eat your vegetables Alfred, even if I have to force-feed you!"

"Get back here you little shit!" Lovino yelled, running after his child as well. The southern half of Italy not very happy with Alfred's screaming...obviously.

Scared, Ivan looked like he was going to cry again as he buried his face in Ludwig's shoulder. He sighed, noticing how easily frightened he was. The German analyzed Ivan's appearance for the first time...and frowned, a worried expression on his face. Ivan was tiny, skinny, and weak from being abandoned. He wondered if his parents ever took care of him before they dumped him on the street to fend for himself, because even if he had been abandoned recently, he shouldn't be this tiny. The little boy also had bruises that he never noticed because they were hidden under his clothes.

"We should take him to the doctor once we get back home." Ludwig announced, getting surprised looks from everyone. He lightly put a hand on the child's back, only to jerk it back when Ivan squeaked in pain.

"Ivan, I'm going to need to check your back, okay?" The little boy lifted his arms up in response. Gently, Ludwig took off the boy's coat, scarf, and tattered shirt, revealing a large, nasty bruise on his back, with some small bruises on his neck.

"Oh Ivan, why didn't you tell me?"

Ivan just covered his face with his hands in shame.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about! You got hurt...who did this to you?"

"A-a-another homeless person to-took my b-box a-and beat me up."

Kumajiro, who had finished eating a while ago, sensed that the boy was sad and cuddled up next to him. The polar bears fur was very soft and didn't hurt Ivan when he touched his bruises. The Russian giggled and hugged Kuma, petting the bear with a tiny hand.

"How about I give you a bath, give you some new clothes, and then let you sleep?" Ludwig said. Ivan nodded in response, grinning because he was going to be clean again. He picked him up and walked off to the bathroom, preparing the bath and making sure that the water was warm. Feliciano helped out, since Kiku needed a bath as well and Alfred had already taken his earlier. Together, Feliciano and Ludwig made sure the two boys were squeaky clean before taking them out of the bathtub then drying them off, and helping them put on their pajamas. Ivan had to borrow some of Kiku's clothes, which the little Japanese nation didn't care about at all.

"Goodnight boys." Ludwig said, giving all of them a kiss on the forehead. Kumajiro had sneaked in earlier and wouldn't move from his spot between Ivan and Kiku, so Matthew let his bear sleep with them tonight. Alfred, as usual, slept near the edge of the bed.

For the second night in a row, Ivan had no nightmares.

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**A/N: **This story was originally going to have my OC Island Country Tesivon as a major character, but I noticed there would end up being a lot of OCs, so I scratched that and switched to the Hetalia Characters that my friends and I are. Our family is based on a dream I had. xD


End file.
